TALLAHASSEE – UCF rallied for two runs in the bottom of the eighth but it was not enough as top-seeded Florida State defeated the third-seeded Golden Knights 3-2 Saturday in game four of the NCAA Regional in Tallahassee. With the win, the Seminoles (44-20) advanced to Sunday’s regional championship game while the Golden Knights (45-17) will face Oklahoma State Saturday evening in an elimination game at Dick Howser Stadium.
The Seminoles loaded the bases in the first inning with no outs and managed to score just one run off UCF starter Kyle Bono. Bono started the game allowing a single and two walks, but managed to settle down and yielded just a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryne Malone to give the Seminoles a 1-0 lead.
Florida State scored its second run of the game in the fourth when Gibbs Chapman drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to give the Seminoles a 2-0 advantage. Shane Robinson followed with a single to right, scoring Matt Sauls, to push the FSU lead to 3-0.
FSU starter Rhett James was dominant, holding the Golden Knights hitless through the first 6.1 innings of the game. Dee Brown broke up the no-hit bid in the seventh with a single to left, but was stranded at second to end the inning.
Bono (8-2) struggled to find his control early in the game, walking a season-high four batters through the first four innings. The Lake Mary native yielded three runs on five hits in 7.0 innings of work with six strikeouts and four walks.
The Golden Knights mounted a rally in the eighth to get back into the game. Kevin Richmond started the UCF eighth inning with a single through the left side and pinch hitter David Mann walked. Drew Butera then bunted a ball to third base for an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Pinch hitter Marshall Bernhard then lined a double to right center on a 1-2 count to drive in UCF’s first two runs of the game. With runners on second and third, FSU reliever Matt DiBlasi got out of the jam with two groundouts and a pop out to get out of the inning.
UCF mustered just one hit in the bottom of the ninth as DiBlasi recorded his second save of the season. James (10-2) pitched 7.0 innings, allowing three hits, two runs with six strikeouts.
Freshman right-hander Taylor Meier will start Saturday evening at 7 p.m. vs. Oklahoma State.
UCF Post-Game Quotes
UCF Head Coach Jay Bergman
"I thought (Rhett) James pitched a great game and I thought (Kyle) Bono pitched a great game. We told our players that we're going to get one chance to win this ball game along the line. We had the chance there in the eighth inning and we took advantage of it. Bernie (Marshall Bernhard) got a double and then second and third with no outs and couldn't get it out of the infield and that's really the ballgame. Both pitching staffs pitched excellent. Kyle (Bono) may disagree with this but he really didn't have his good stuff today but he's such a competitor, just a warrior. He battled through situations and adversely he kept us in the ballgame and gave us a chance to win and gave us an opportunity to win. That's all you can ask out of anybody."
"That's just one of those things. I mean you work on those situations all season long and it gets right down to the end and it's pitcher versus the hitter and in that situation they got us out."
"Well he (FSU pitcher Matt DiBlasi) just came out there and stood up there and said hit it if you want to. It wasn't a mystery, I mean he was going to challenge our hitters. He wasn't trying to nit pick or anything, he came right at you and you have to admire him for that."
UCF PH/3B Marshall Bernhard
(on big hit)
"I knew I had to come in and do something. Like coach said, he's (James) a big off-speed pitcher. He threw five pitches for sliders and I kept fouling them off, fouling them off and I finally found a good pitch to hit and I do what I always do and take the opportunity."
UCF P Kyle Bono
"I didn't think I had my best stuff today. That first inning, the kind of calls that I got, kind of wore me down. I mean it's a big atmosphere. I just tried to compete with the team. It did wear me down a little bit but later on, I actually started feeling better. I did the best that I could for the team to give them a chance to win."
Game Notes: Kyle Bono’s six strikeouts give him 107 for the season, seventh in UCF single-season history … UCF dropped to 11-17 all-time in NCAA play and 3-18 all-time vs. Florida State with the loss … UCF is 3-10 on the season when it has been out-hit … the Golden Knights lost just their fifth (20-5) game of the season on a Saturday with the 3-2 loss … UCF’s bullpen pitched two innings of shutout baseball with two strikeouts … UCF had just five hits, breaking a streak of eight straight games with 10+ hits ... UCF is 9-7 in one-run games in 2004.